UNDERMAJORDOMO MINOR by Patrick DeWitt (Anansi), 337 pages, $32 cloth. Rating: NNNN
Patrick DeWitt’s follow-up to his wildly successful The Sisters Brothers has all kinds of problems. It drops in episodes that seem to have no connection to the plot, it lacks a central theme, and the protagonist, hopelessly unmotivated and an inveterate liar, is strangely unappealing.
But I couldn’t put the damn thing down.
Set who knows when or where – but definitely not now and not here – it follows Lucien Minor (called Lucy), who leaves his hometown to take up a job as undermajordomo at a rundown castle in a nearby town. His only castle-mates are his demanding employer, Mr. Olderglough, who has an irritating habit of refusing to answer questions the incompetent cook, Agnes and the Baron, who’s gone bonkers since the Baroness dumped him and left home.
While coping with these unusual characters, Lucy’s falling in love with Klara, the daughter of the very adept village thief, but he’s got a rival in Adolphus, who’s engaged in perpetual combat for reasons never specified.
Actually, nothing makes sense here – especially a central episode when the Baroness, having returned to the castle, and her friends become serious party animals in the main ballroom. Indeed, the whole thing is a little bit ridiculous and, except for the constant bewildering military clashes, sheds little light on the human condition.
But who cares? This is a charming and entertaining piece of fiction by a writer with a lot of nerve who can produce a very flawed work and still hold your interest.
I do see why the juries for Canada’s major prizes dismissed it, but I appreciate the way DeWitt gives the word “fabulist” new meaning.
